MCC Baseball Ranked 15th Nationally

From School Reports

The 2015 regular season has come to an end for the Meridian Community College baseball team and the postseason is just around the corner. The Eagles learned on Wednesday afternoon that it is ranked 15th in the latest NJCAA Division II National Poll heading into the first round of the MACJC playoffs on Friday. This marks the third time this season that the team has been ranked in the poll and it also marks the highest ranking so far this season. The Eagles were ranked 20^th in last week’s poll and moved up five spots after winning three of four games in the previous week.

MCC will open up the first round of the MACJC playoffs as the fourth seed among the eight teams that qualified for the postseason. The Eagles will open postseason play on Friday by hosting East Central Community College at Scaggs Field. The two teams will take part in a three games series with the winning team advancing to the four-team MACJC State Tournament which will be played next weekend. The first pitch of Game One with the Warriors at Scaggs Field is scheduled for Friday night at 6 p.m. and Game Two is slated for Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. The third game, if necessary, will be played on Saturday at the conclusion of Game Two.

MCC Soccer Star Inks With Belhaven

From School Report

The Meridian Community College men’s soccer program announced on Wednesday that Judson Watson will continue his success as a two-sport athlete as he has inked to continue his tennis and soccer career at Belhaven. Judson was captain of the 2014 Eagle Soccer Team and acted as anchor to the Defensive Back Four.

“He is a phenomenal athlete, more of a utility player, and showed up each day with a mindset to work hard and be a leader,” said MCC head coach Alex George. “His athleticism was phenomenal. He plays with  tremendous pace and physicality and was able to transition both ends of the pitch very effectively. We utilized him quiet often on corners kicks because of his ability to be so physical in the box and leap for high balls. Players like Judson leave their mark on a program, you get lucky to find one like him who has a bit of that old school pedigree. It’s a characteristic that most coaches would say is pivotal to winning, it’s nothing you can teach, it’s just there”, says George

Judson came to Meridian Community College from Oxford High School, one of the premier programs in the state.  He has played tennis for Meridian for four semesters.  He is a transfer student from Ole Miss.  As a freshman, Judson played number two doubles and number four singles helping his team to a Region XXIII Runner-up finish and a trip to the national tennis tournament.  His record in singles was 12-2 for the regular season.  He and his doubles partner scored a huge upset against JCJC at the Region XXIII tournament.  This season Judson has struggled with injuries; he had surgery in February but quickly came back into the lineup as he felt the team needed him.  He played number three singles for most of the season and number two doubles.  Judson was given the Mr. Hustle award at the Tennis Awards’ Night. He was also elected by his teammates as the co-captain of the tennis team his sophomore year. 

MCC Soccer Star Inks With UWA

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College soccer program has enjoyed a great tradition of having its players to play collegiate soccer at the next level and another player has joined that elite group. The MCC Lady Eagles announced on Tuesday that Kayla Phillips has signed a scholarship to play soccer next season at the University of West Alabama in Livingston. The ceremony was held on campus Monday afternoon with family and friends present to witness Phillips sign with UWA.

Phillips will go down as one of the best players to play for the women’s program at Meridian Community College and will also leave with some very impressive career accomplishments. Phillips will leave MCC holding the all-time assist record for a season after collecting 17 assists during the 2013 season. Phillips was among the national leaders in the assist category in 2013 and her historic freshman season also earned her a spot on the All-Region 23 squad. Phillips finished the 2014 season by scoring 12 goals and collected seven assists in 15 games played. The seven assists also gave Phillips the school record for most assists in a career with 24 shattering the previous record held by Holly Head (2007-2008). Phillips was also named a member of the 2014 All-Region squad for MCC head coach Mike Smith.

Phillips is a graduate of Clarkdale High School and will look to add some depth to the UWA squad that finished last season with a 14-5-1 overall record.

MCC Golf Finishes Second at Region 23 Tournament

From School Reports

LAUREL, MS- The Meridian Community College  golf team finished runner-up at the 2015 Region 23 Golf Championship on Monday afternoon.

MCC started the final day nine strokes behind Mississippi Gulf Coast and cut the lead to five with four holes to play, but fell short in its quest for the comeback. The Eagles finished in second to close out another successful season.

Sophomore Connor Cavin once again led the Eagles by finishing second overall (74, 75). Austin Terrell finished 5th overall by shooting 74, 78. Both players were named to the All-Region 23 Team. 

Grant Renegar added another top ten finish to his resume by shooting 75, 79. Clayton Gray finished 14th by shooting 77, 80 and Luther Thompson finished 16th by shooting 79, 79. Cavin and Terrell qualified to play as individuals in the NJCAA National Championship Tournament to be played at Goosepond GC  in Scottsboro, AL on May 19-23. 

MCC Baseball Falls to Hinds

From School Reports

JACKSON, MS- The Meridian Community College Eagles closed out the 2015 regular season by traveling to the Jackson area to take on top ranked Hinds Community College at Smith-Willis Stadium. The Eagles were unable to finish the season on a high note and lost both games by final scores of 11-4 and 13-8 to HCC.

MCC finished the 2015 regular season with an overall record of 31-14 and 19-9 in conference action. The Eagles also finished the regular season in fourth place in the MACJC standings and will host East Central Community College in the opening round of the MACJC State Playoffs which begin Friday. The two teams will take part in a best two-out-three series with Game One scheduled for Friday night at 6 p.m. Game Two will take place at Scaggs Field on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. and an if necessary game to follow on Saturday. 

MCC opened play on Monday against Hinds by dropping Game One by a final score of 11-4. The Eagles finished Game One with 10 hits, while Hinds collected 13 hits. Dalton Thomas led the way in Game One with a pair of base hits and two RBI's, while Jaylon Keys added a pair of hits and an RBI in the setback for Meridian. Kyle Bayles drove in the final run for the Eagles on an RBI single.

Hinds was able to complete the sweep of MCC in Game Two by winning by a final count of 13-8. MCC finished with 12 hits overall, while Hinds had 14 in the sweep.

Kyle Bayles led the way in Game Two with a double, triple, and one RBI. Matt Berler finished with a pair of hits and two RBI's, while Dustin Smith added two hits and two RBI's. Dalton Smith drove in one run on a triple and Jaylon Keys added a pair of singles.